In modern medical practice, it is useful to analyze a sequence of images of in vivo tissue obtained throughout the course of a diagnostic medical procedure. For example, in screening for some forms of cervical cancer, a chemical agent is applied to cervical tissue and the optical response of the tissue is captured in a sequence of colposcopic images. The tissue is characterized by analyzing the time-dependent response of the tissue, as recorded in the sequence of images. During this type of diagnostic procedure, the tissue may move while images are being taken, resulting in a spatial shift of the tissue within the image frame field. The tissue movement may be caused by the natural movement of the patient during the procedure, which can occur even though the patient attempts to remain completely still. Accurate analysis of the sequence of images may require that the images be adjusted prior to analysis to compensate for misalignment caused at least in part by patient movement.
There is currently a method of stabilizing an electronic image by generating a motion vector which represents the amount and direction of motion occurring between consecutive frames of a video signal. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,274 to Kondo. However, this method accounts for certain gross movements of a video camera—in particular, certain vibrations caused by the operator of a handheld camcorder. The method does not compensate for misalignment caused by movement of a sample. For example, such a method could not be used to adequately correct an image misalignment caused by the small-scale movement of a patient during a diagnostic procedure.
Another image stabilization method is based on detecting the physical movement of the camera itself. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,071 to MacKay, which describes the use of a gimbaled ring assembly that moves as a camera is physically jittered. These types of methods cannot be used to correct misalignments caused by the movement of a sample.